Rafa’s Watch Worth A Cool Half Million

You may notice something a little different about Rafael Nadal when he plays the 2010 French Open. No, he hasn’t changed his whip-like forehand. No, he’s not wearing a pink shirt (which I happened to love last year). And no, his knees aren’t bothering him anymore. The difference? He’s sporting a watch. But not just any watch. No, no, no. This is a $425,000 watch limited edition Richard Mille RM027 Tourbillon. Yowzah!

Now before you start saying, “Hm. It must be nice to be Rafael Nadal and have people throwing luxury timepieces at you,” understand that Nadal entered into a partnership with Richard Mille and was actually involved in the design and testing of this watch. It was expressly made for Nadal who plays tennis under some pretty harsh conditions, to put it mildly. Using exotic materials usually reserved for industrial or aeronautical uses (titanium, aluminum lithium, you know what I mean), this watch is super light and super durable.

And, of course, super expensive. But even if you’ve got the money, you can’t just walk into your favorite high-end jewelry store and get one of these watches. Only 50 of them are being made – a very, very limited edition. Yet, think about it – if you had one, you still wouldn’t be able to play like Nadal, but at least you could tell time like a pro.